Noob questions...

Hey Guys,

I have an 07 Trek 8500 that I really love but I found the ebay carbon frames so for $330 shipped I couldn't say no to at least giving it a try. I plan on swapping over most of the components that I can and hanging onto the 8500 frame in case the china carbon frame doesn't hold up or I don't like it.

I am wondering what you guys suggest I do about front derailleur and bottom bracket. The taper of the seat tube into the BB starts high enough that I can't slide the front derailleur down far enough to get it into the right position. Am I going to have to go 1x9? Or is there a way around this? (see picture below)

As for the bottom bracket, I am wondering how you guys typically orient your spacers. I have a Shimano XT external BB (68/73 mm) and the BB on the frame is a 68 mm, so I will need about 5 mm of spacers. What size and quantity do you put on each side? To get the spacing from the frame to the lowest cog correct, I was figuring about 2.5 on the drive side and the rest on the non drive side. How have you guys done it? (This question is probably different for every setup, eh?)

You need a bottom swing (high clamp) derailleur. You have a top swing (low clamp). Make sure the pull is from the correct direction as well (top or bottom, some do both).

Also, put a damn seapost in that thing and clamp it there. Nothing bothers me more than people clamping frame tubes. For fun, go squeeze the tubing on your bike between two fingers; you'll probably be able to flex it. Now imagine the force of a clamp on that tube and the force from swinging the bike around in the stand.

Don't you hate it when a sentence doesn't end the way you think it octopus?

As for the bottom bracket, I am wondering how you guys typically orient your spacers. I have a Shimano XT external BB (68/73 mm) and the BB on the frame is a 68 mm, so I will need about 5 mm of spacers. What size and quantity do you put on each side? To get the spacing from the frame to the lowest cog correct, I was figuring about 2.5 on the drive side and the rest on the non drive side. How have you guys done it? (This question is probably different for every setup, eh?)